His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama is scheduled to depart Dharamsala today for Delhi, where he will undergo medical treatment on his left knee. Following his recovery, he is to travel to Ladakh toward the end of June for an extended stay.

Congratulating the people of the State on the occasion, he recalled the immense contributions of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the first Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Dr. Y.S. Parmar, in securing statehood for the State.

The Cabinet decided to establish four new laboratories for nutritional profiling and strengthening of food testing eco system one each in districts Kangra, Mandi, Shimla and Solan (Baddi) and upgradation of composite testing laboratory at Kandaghat in Solan district alongwith creation and filling up requisite posts.

His body was brought back to the Dharamshala area, and he was buried in the churchyard of St. John in the Wilderness, located to the north east of Forsythganj, making him the first Viceroy of India to die in office and the only one buried in the Himalayas. Prior to this the major development was in 1860 when the 66th Gurkha Light Infantry was shifted to Dharamshala, establishing it as a subsidiary cantonment; this regiment would later be known as the 1st Gurkha Rifles.

The Chief Minister appreciated the noble gesture and said that such contributions would go a long way in supporting the welfare initiatives being undertaken for orphaned children, destitute women and other vulnerable sections. He said the State Government was committed to ensure a secure and dignified life for all beneficiaries under the scheme.

An initiative of the Dharamshala Municipal Corporation in collaboration with the District Administration, Kangra, the Dharamshala Marathon 2025 underscores the civic body’s commitment to encourage an active and healthy lifestyle while attracting National and International athletes.

It gave its nod to start 4 years integrated B.Ed. programme at Government College of Teachers Education, Dharamshala, Government College, Nadaun, Government College, Chail Koti and Government College, Tikkar, district Shimla. It also gave its approval to start 2 years B.P.Ed. Programme at Government College Saraswati Nagar, district Shimla. It also decided to introduce new Fine Arts subjects at College of Fine Arts at Loharab, district Shimla and open a new Fine Arts College by converting the existing Government Degree College, Haripur Guler in district Kangra.

Speaker of the H.P Vidhan Sabha, Kuldeep Singh Pathania, extended a warm welcome to all the delegates and expressed pride in hosting the CPA Zone-2 conference for the first time in Dharamsala. He noted that for the past two decades, the Winter session of the Himachal Assembly has been conducted in Dharamshala and that this conference marks a new beginning for many such future events in the region.

It also decided to introduce the Deposit Refund Scheme 2025 to effectively manage and reduce non-biodegradable waste. Under this scheme, consumers will pay a refundable deposit over and above the product price, which will be returned upon the return of the

Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the Government has issued a notification regarding opening of restaurants and other eatable shops round-the-clock from 23rd December 2024 to 5th January, 2025 so that tourists and visitors do no face any inconvenience during their stays in the State.